Watch This Water Wheel Clean Up Trash from the Baltimore Harbor

John Kellet's clever invention pulls out trash that runoff carries into Baltimore's harbor.

Lately, Baltimore's inner harbor has been receiving a new visitor: copious amounts of floating garbage. Rainstorms in the city force the trash into the harbor, where it floats along for all residents and tourists to see. John Kellet was bugged by this eyesore, and so he devised the Water Wheel, a big turning wheel in the river that since May has collected over 40 tons of trash.

Sitting where the Jones Falls River enters the inner harbor, the wheel collects almost all trash that is propelled by the runoff, which it then deposits it into a large container. Previously the city was using crab nets to catch the trash, but the wheel is doing a much more efficient job, collecting everything from water bottles to Cheetos bags to tires.

Using Kellet's invention and other techniques, Baltimore hopes to have the Inner Harbor clean enough for swimming by 2020.

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